Wednesday, November 11 is Veterans Day, which is an opportunity to honor all veterans.
An issue significantly impacting the future of our living veterans is brain injuries, a signature injury from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some service men and women aren't diagnosed with a brain injury until they come home and exhibit symptoms. Of these, a significant percentage are expected to develop seizures during their lifetime. Evidence from the Vietnam War shows that some seizures may take decades to develop, thus making early detection of brain injury a priority.
Seizures are unpredictable and steal freedom from those who have risked all to maintain our freedom. They are often completely dependent on family members because they are unable to drive, hold down a job or even take care of their children by themselves. The University Hospital Epilepsy Center is here to serve many of these wounded warriors.
Correctly diagnosing epilepsy is becoming more and more important as soldiers are returning home with brain injuries, which could lead to the development of seizures. To help in caring for epileptic patients, University Hospital's Epilepsy Monitoring Unit has hired two new medical directors within the past year. They are a few of only a handful of specialists in the region who have specialized epilepsy training.
The Epilepsy Center at University Hospital is one of two level IV centers in the state of Kentucky. The National Assocation of Epilepsy Centers certified University Hospital's Center as a level IV in 1981.